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sapphire_mayo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
1.0
I tried, and unfortunately I fell int that group of people that could not follow ALL of the different view points and changes and what is the point of this story, really - I followed book one just fine, but once into book two, it was like starting over and I felt let down that I invested time into a book and found by that point a new book - and a totally different angle on EVERYTHING - yeah, so I quit - so sue me - i just can not deal with a book that has more person point-of-views than there are days in the week - sorry - too much jumping around - next time, it should be separate novels in the same world, not multiple novels within one binding.
UPDATE: Re-Read
Yeah - Just as it was the first time around. This one is just too out there with too much going on and nothing going on at the same time. "Give It Time" people say. If you cannot grab me by 25%, I will not invest my time, what little I have, to reading.
UPDATE: Re-Read
Yeah - Just as it was the first time around. This one is just too out there with too much going on and nothing going on at the same time. "Give It Time" people say. If you cannot grab me by 25%, I will not invest my time, what little I have, to reading.
queenofglitches's review against another edition
Think I need to read this physically.
effaly's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book. I looked forward to getting lost in another series. Now I'm sitting, not really sure what to think about this book and if I want to continue the series.
My main problem with this book was the writing and the execution. For the first 100 pages, I had absolutely no idea what was going on because the author explains nothing. The reader is dumped into this huge and complex world and has to find their way around. I even checked at one point if this isn't actually a book set in the middle of the series. Because that's what it feels like. The author and characters talk about things they know and don't elaborate on anything for the reader.
The constant hopping between POVs didn't make it any easier. Instead of switch POVs every chapter, the author jumps around several characters in one chapter.
This two things made it so hard to get into the story, and are probably the reason I just couldn't connect with even one of the characters. Ok, this and because most of the characters are so flat and lack... well... "character".
And then there is the quality of writing... Let's just say, dialogues are certainly not Erikson's strong point. Neither are "romances" - which all were insta-loves, even when one character (the girl, surprise, surprise
My main problem with this book was the writing and the execution. For the first 100 pages, I had absolutely no idea what was going on because the author explains nothing. The reader is dumped into this huge and complex world and has to find their way around. I even checked at one point if this isn't actually a book set in the middle of the series. Because that's what it feels like. The author and characters talk about things they know and don't elaborate on anything for the reader.
The constant hopping between POVs didn't make it any easier. Instead of switch POVs every chapter, the author jumps around several characters in one chapter.
This two things made it so hard to get into the story, and are probably the reason I just couldn't connect with even one of the characters. Ok, this and because most of the characters are so flat and lack... well... "character".
And then there is the quality of writing... Let's just say, dialogues are certainly not Erikson's strong point. Neither are "romances" - which all were insta-loves, even when one character (the girl, surprise, surprise
chizoom's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kcgopher's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mattp3's review against another edition
4.0
This book was hard work. Drops you in at the deep end and the learning curve is pretty much vertical, but it was interesting and exciting in decent measure. Very deep and intricate medium-soft magic system and fantasy setting. I will certainly be continuing this series.
autogeek's review against another edition
4.0
It was good, but not as good as I was hoping it would be.
Given that this is the first book in the series, the main issue with it is that it throws you (the reader) into this brand new world, with a complicated political structure and magic system and numerous characters with little to no preparation. As a result, for the first half to three-quarters of the book, you are barely holding on and the vast majority of your faculties are involved in trying to make sense of the mess of text on the page rather than focus on the storyline.
Then there are the characters, most of whom are rather flat and have little to no personality whatsoever. The plot is rather convoluted and yet somehow not very involving. There are creatures and powers in the book that are comic-book-supervillain-powerful but yet don't achieve much.
However, once you get past the initial fog of confusion, there are a few things worth noting about this book that are pretty good. In fact, they're bloody brilliant.
They are, in fact, the very same things that made getting into this book so difficult: the world and the magic system. The world in this book with the different cities, kingdoms, political factions and armies is simply immense. And I mean Game of Thrones or The Wheel of Time immense. And then there is the magic system. This is the most detailed magic system that I have come across in any series. Not only is there a magic system but there are magic systems, creatures, gods and powers of eras long past which get reawakened, used, killed or put back to sleep.
By the end of the book, I got the feeling that this book was less about the plot itself but rather more about laying a groundwork and preparing the reader for further books in the series. So despite my disappointment with this book, I have given it 3.5 (rounded up to 4) stars. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series, just not immediately.
Given that this is the first book in the series, the main issue with it is that it throws you (the reader) into this brand new world, with a complicated political structure and magic system and numerous characters with little to no preparation. As a result, for the first half to three-quarters of the book, you are barely holding on and the vast majority of your faculties are involved in trying to make sense of the mess of text on the page rather than focus on the storyline.
Then there are the characters, most of whom are rather flat and have little to no personality whatsoever. The plot is rather convoluted and yet somehow not very involving. There are creatures and powers in the book that are comic-book-supervillain-powerful but yet don't achieve much.
However, once you get past the initial fog of confusion, there are a few things worth noting about this book that are pretty good. In fact, they're bloody brilliant.
They are, in fact, the very same things that made getting into this book so difficult: the world and the magic system. The world in this book with the different cities, kingdoms, political factions and armies is simply immense. And I mean Game of Thrones or The Wheel of Time immense. And then there is the magic system. This is the most detailed magic system that I have come across in any series. Not only is there a magic system but there are magic systems, creatures, gods and powers of eras long past which get reawakened, used, killed or put back to sleep.
By the end of the book, I got the feeling that this book was less about the plot itself but rather more about laying a groundwork and preparing the reader for further books in the series. So despite my disappointment with this book, I have given it 3.5 (rounded up to 4) stars. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series, just not immediately.
calbowen's review against another edition
1.0
I tried, and unfortunately I fell int that group of people that could not follow ALL of the different view points and changes and what is the point of this story, really - I followed book one just fine, but once into book two, it was like starting over and I felt let down that I invested time into a book and found by that point a new book - and a totally different angle on EVERYTHING - yeah, so I quit - so sue me - i just can not deal with a book that has more person point-of-views than there are days in the week - sorry - too much jumping around - next time, it should be separate novels in the same world, not multiple novels within one binding.
UPDATE: Re-Read
Yeah - Just as it was the first time around. This one is just too out there with too much going on and nothing going on at the same time. "Give It Time" people say. If you cannot grab me by 25%, I will not invest my time, what little I have, to reading.
UPDATE: Re-Read
Yeah - Just as it was the first time around. This one is just too out there with too much going on and nothing going on at the same time. "Give It Time" people say. If you cannot grab me by 25%, I will not invest my time, what little I have, to reading.
rattleshirt's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0